In 2009 the new Board under the leadership of CEO Graham Storey, implemented a new strategy to increase near-term revenue visibility, seeking out new routes to market. Transense has subsequently established two trading divisions – Translogik and SAWSense

Traded on OFEX 1995-1999 and admitted to London Stock Exchange's, AIM, in December 1999

Why SAW Technology Is Important

Safety - Helping to prevent road traffic accidents.

More than 20% of all truck breakdowns are due to tyre failure! Transense tyre pressure monitoring technology (TPMS) continually measures both tyre pressure and temperature alerting the driver when the air pressure of one or more of the tyres has fallen below the manufacturer's recommended level. The system interrogates each tyre many times a second, recognising small changes in the pressure and temperature, providing the driver with continually updated information. Most other direct tyre monitoring systems only inform the driver when there is a predefined change in pressure, usually between 10% and 25% deflation. In addition, many direct systems are unable to provide temperature information. Indirect TPMS systems can take up to 20 minutes for system calibration and 20 minutes to inform the driver of a tyre deflation greater than 25%. Indirect systems rely on information from the vehicle ABS sensors and are therefore unable to provide absolute values of tyre pressure or temperature and operate poorly under road conditions where wheel slip occurs.

Environment - Reducing toxic emissions and waste.

Incorrect tyre pressure has a huge impact on running cost and the environment. A tyre that is 20% (typically 7psi) under-inflated has an increased rolling resistance of 12% (1) reducing tyre life by 50% and increasing fuel consumption by ~6% (2). If all vehicles in the EU ran at the correct tyre pressures, there would be a fuel saving of 700 million litres of fuel per annum (3). Maintaining correct tyre pressures will therefore increase tyre life, reduce pollution caused by the manufacture process and reduce vehicle emissions. Transense's technology does not depend on a battery-powered transmitting device in each wheel so the associated problem of disposing of potentially hundreds of millions of batteries every year will be eradicated.

Torque - Economy and efficiency, power only when required

Conventional hydraulic power assisted steering (PAS) systems are working all the time the vehicle's engine is running. In comparison, an electrical power assisted steering (EPAS) vehicle only draws power from the battery when manoeuvring at low speed, improving fuel consumption by 2 to 5%. Transense's torque sensors for EPAS provide improved driver steering feel, a more robust design and lower manufacturing cost.

Current vehicle engines are managed by a control unit (ecu) which cannot adjust for manufacturing tolerances or in-service wear. By directly sensing torque in the driveline, it is possible to optimally control the engine and automatic transmission generating significant fuel savings and improvements in vehicle drive smoothness.

One of the world's most demanding challenges

An estimated 69.6 million cars and light trucks were manufactured in 2010. Assuming five wheels per vehicle, (trucks range from 6 to 42) that equates to at least 340 million new wheels and tyres per year. The world's current production of tyres is 1.2 billion with the difference due to replacement tyres. One of the fastest growing markets in the next 10 years will be China, where annual sales in 2010 exceeded 10 million. It is forecast that in 2012, car sales in emerging nations will surpass purchases in the developed world for the first time on record.

The world is consuming oil, for all purposes, at the rate of 77 million barrels a day. This figure is anticipated to rise to 121 million barrels a day by 2025(4). The emissions of carbon dioxide are expected to rise from 24 billion tons to 37 billion tons over the same period of which approximately 10% can be attributed to cars and light trucks. In addition, there are emissions of soot and oxides of nitrogen from diesel driven vehicles. In 2004, in the US, cars and light trucks emitted as carbon dioxide, 314 million metric tonnes of carbon - equivalent to a coal train 50,000 miles long (5).

Conclusion - The contribution of SAW technology

The cost of fuel affects all aspects of our everyday lives. Most goods are transported by road and 50% of trucks have tyres that are under-inflated by at least 10%. This equates to an approximate increase in running cost of €1,300 per annum(6) - an additional cost passed directly on to the consumer........... think about it!